Orthopedic fasteners have been used to repair bone fractures in the body of a human or other animal. For example, intramedullary nails are used to repair fractures in long bones of the body, such as the human femur. Intramedullary nails have also been used as a tool for lengthening femur bones, whereby the femur is surgically fractured and incrementally separated and allowed to regrow over time. In addition, reconstruction screws are used in hip reconstruction surgery and fracture plates are used for spine fractures.
In either case, an infection may occur at the fracture site or a bone growth factor may be required at the fracture site to stimulate bone growth. In those cases, further surgery may be required to deliver a therapeutic drug to the fracture site.